Torpid Souls
by Sesshomaru of the Dark Blade
Summary: Chapter 1 is a lead-in. The title will stay a mystery until chapter 2. Umm...review if you feel I deserve it.
1. Coffee

*Not owning Inuyasha. Though I do love Sessho! ^_^ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------  
  
Torpid Souls -Sesshomaru of the Dark Blade  
  
Sessho: Jaken? Jaken: Yes, Lord Sesshomaru? Sessho: Why do you stay with me, after all the abuse? Jaken: I am your retainer m'lord, I cannot leave. Sessho:.Thank you, Jaken.  
  
As the early morning rays filtered through the castle, Jaken, the first one that always was up, scuttled down the corridors. 'Lord Sesshomaru is always angry when he wakes up,' Jaken thought, 'It would be wise to wake Rin up. She's always in a good mood.' Jaken continued to walk the seemingly endless corridors to the sleeping quarters of the black-haired girl.  
  
Jaken sung happily about his lord, clicking in rhythm his staff. The frog of a man continued until reaching Rin's bedroom. Carefully sliding open the rice paper door with the designs of demons and dragons, Jaken waddled over and tried to wake the little girl. When he got to poking distance, he noticed the teddy bear she had slept with. 'How cute,' he thought, smiling. He was jealous of Sesshomaru; he had such a beautiful female, 'And, if I might add, close to my size.' Jaken decided it was best to leave her alone. Jaken started to walk down to the kitchen for some coffee. After Sesshomaru stole some from the miko from the future, Jaken had been hooked. Jaken had tried to buy some at the store, but he couldn't get any, Sesshomaru decided that it must be from the future. Irish cream, yum, with a bit of sugar. He liked Irish cream for the reference to green. "A little bit of green goes a long way!" Jaken exclaimed, rather loudly, right outside Rin's door. In fact, he exclaimed so loudly that he didn't hear the little voice saying, "I love you.Sesshomaru."  
  
Jaken's hat dragged along the floor, staining brown as he scooped some of the coffee beans out with it, they had stolen these energy beans from Kagome last night. He had to. Sesshomaru had taken a few scoops for himself with the previous bag. After a while, Jaken was out of the brown beans. That night Jaken had snuck out with the other coffee bag to Kaede's hut, where the miko sleeps and heals her wounds. He found a one "pound" bag, next to a brightly colored package that said "Maruchan" right above "Roast Beef Flavor" and there was a sign, next to a picture of very succulent roast beef, which said, "Rich Flavor!" Ditching the 5 "pound" bag and taking the one that seemed to be lighter, he sprinted off, almost. Instead he fell flat on his face as the bag refused to move. "Kuso!" Jaken screeched. "Who is there?" a voice followed. A man's voice. 'Eep!' Jaken thought as he dumped half of the bag out and vaulted into the forest, taking the package for further inspection, beans following like an obedient canine. Before he left, he heard faintly, "Ack! My coffee!" Followed by, "Ack! MY RAMEN!" in a deeper voice.  
  
Jaken was relieved that was over, then proceeded to grind the beans, as Sesshomaru told him to. Footsteps were heard lightly as a silver-haired demon stepped into the room, his boots clacking as he stepped on the freshly cleaned floor. "Jaken, why did you not wake me?" said the white- clad demon. "Ack! Lord Sesshomaru!" exclaimed Jaken, "I did not know you were up!" "Just get me some of the coffee," replied Sesshomaru snappily as he got reached past various stolen trinkets to get a mug that had, "World's Best Demon," on it. It had originally said, "World's Best Mom," but Sesshomaru had inscribed something else on top of it with his claws. "Right away, m'lord," Jaken stated. He started to heat some water, and pour the ground coffee in. He had only begun stirring when Sesshomaru begun to cough. "Is something the mat- OH GOD!" screamed Jaken. At that very moment, as stream of blood sprayed from Sesshomaru's mouth throughout the room, leaving droplets of crimson on the counter and floor. He collapsed and continued to spit blood. "LORD SESSHOMARU! KUSO!" The diminutive lime green man exploded into a horrified tremble as the spray turned into a violent vomit.  
  
'Darkness,' Sesshomaru thought silently, cringing as he heaved even more blood, 'Is how I am to die?" The pain was excruciating. Like nothing he had felt before. In his half conscious state, he could only listen to Jaken, and a small voice that said weeping bitterly, "Please, Sesshomaru..don't die!" Sesshomaru then lifted his hand to embrace the child, but was stopped mid-way by the overtaking darkness. 


	2. Part II

*Still not owning Inuyasha. Loving Sessho. I'd marry him if I wasn't male. And straight. But most importantly, he already has a woman. Just a little girl and chasing men, that's just wrong. I want to be Sesshomaru's husband!  
  
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Torpid Souls p. II- Sesshomaru of the Dark Blade  
  
As Sesshomaru faded from consciousness, and pale white smoke seeped from his nose and mouth. Sesshomaru's body twitched spasmodically as a ball of bloody mass stretched his to its maximum to escape from the body that binds it. Jaken rushed over, only to be hit by a fountain of blood, the crimson fluid dripping from his robes. As the last few puffs of smoke escaped from Sesshomaru's body, it dragged a piece of purple. "Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!" yelled the frog of a retainer; all virtuosos were gone, left to stare at his master's immolation. Rin fell back in sheer horror, hitting the floor with a great, "THUD!" ------------------------------  
  
"M'lord! Lord Sesshomaru?" a small, croaky voice questioned.  
  
"Is he.dead?" said a little female.  
  
"No, I don't think so." stated the small, croaky voice.  
  
Sesshomaru awoke in his bed to two black slits in yellow orbs, and a rather gaudy hat. "M'lord! You have awakened!" said a creature. "Ack!" yelled a startled Sesshomaru as he jumped back. The creature was Jaken, with a soup, in which, some of the ingredients were not yet dead. Sesshomaru recovered with, "Jaken! What has happened?" The diminutive creature set its staff up against a chair and perched itself on another. "M'lord, we though you had died! You started to vomit blood! It was horrible, I was helpless!" Sesshomaru sat up, his clothes were soaked in dried blood, and it cracked and splintered as he moved to get out of his bed. Sesshomaru would have said, "You're always helpless," but he didn't feel himself enough to. Rin walked in with a bowl of hot water. "Fluffy!" the child yelled. "What did I tell you about calling me Fluffy?" he would have laughed, but only a slight smile, barely noticeable, came to his face. He wasn't feeling himself. Jaken, holding up his soup, disturbed Sesshomaru again with, "Here m'lord, eat some of this." Sesshomaru looked at the concoction in disgust, and then ate it. 'Crunchy,' he thought, and then he proceeded to clean the flesh of the animals from his teeth with a clawed finger. Then, he vomited brown, yellow, red, and white things. Jaken's soup was the inducers. "JAKEN! WHAT THE FUKAI WAS THAT!?" Sesshomaru proceeded to strangle the little man. "Lord Sess-hak-ma-rak-oooo! You're killing me!" Rin made Sesshomaru desist with, "You can't kill your servant like that!" Sesshomaru then said, "You're right Rin." Feeling satisfied, Rin went for the door, when it suddenly got very hot. She turned around to find Sesshomaru burning the green man with his own staff.  
  
When Sessho felt satisfied with the charbroiled frog, he left. But before he could get far, the scorched creature came after him. "Lord Sesshomaru! I was just concerned with your health, you were vomiting blood! I wanted to make sure you got it all out of your system." "Oh.okay," the silver-haired demon said apathetically. Sesshomaru turned around to face his retainer. 'His eyes' Jaken thought, 'there is something wrong with them.they seem.faded.' Jaken felt that he shouldn't tell his lord about the smoke.  
  
-------Flashback--------  
  
The scene begins with inaudible sounds through the door, and then comes to Jaken and Rin talking in the hall.  
  
"Rin, I had a bad feeling about that smoke, it was definitely supernatural," Jaken shuddered as he spoke, "Methinks it is in our best interest not to tell Lord Sesshomaru." "Don't worry Jaken, I won't tell," said the child blithely. Jaken's beak drooped; his version of a frown. Jaken was contemplating of traveling to the Sanzu River. If his hypothesis was correct, he would find information about the incident.  
  
-------End Flashback--------  
  
It had been several hours after the scene; Jaken had to make his decision soon. He journeyed to his room to retrieve the Staff of Heads. Right now, Sesshomaru was incapable of fathoming the seriousness of the situation without knowledge of the ghost smoke and the stain of purple.  
  
It wasn't very far to the Sanzu. Jaken often ventured there with his lord to watch the ferryman cross it with the souls of the fresh dead, so fresh, blood and the smell of men was still pungent as they trailed through the fields. Jaken left silently, though his lord probably heard him anyway. Sesshomaru would always be waiting at the door when Jaken returned. Pale wisps became apparent and intensified as Jaken got closer to the river. The ferryman didn't like Sesshomaru or his subordinates, or any demon for that matter. They gave him more work, killing so much. So, when Jaken got to his destination, he was turned away at first. The little frog-man paced as he though of a new approach. He couldn't threaten the ferryman, because if the only way to the afterlife died, ghosts and other specters would be incredibly common because no one could depart. Plus, that oar was pretty big; it could knock Jaken back to the castle. It sucked to be a dwarf, a flea, a tiny creature with almost no strength. Jaken tried to be nice, he hated it.  
  
"Mr. Ferryman?" Jaken questioned out into the perpetual darkness surrounding what the westerners call, "The River Styx." "Hello.demon," the last word was spit out in disgust as a skeletal frame pulled his boat on to shore. "What do you want, you diminutive frog?" As before, the words were poisoned with hatred and superiority. "I have come to ask you about a soul, won most peculiar, one with a purple tail." The boatman thought and then said, "I have seen it, what of it?" "What was the reason for its color?" "Demons," the ferryman spoke monotone. Jaken was ready to ask what he meant, but his questions were answered as he conjured up memories of his lessons.  
  
Demons had purple souls. It was complicated, but Jaken understood, and readied another question, "What were the convulsions of m'lord and why are souls coming out of him?" The ferryman hesitated, as if he had already said too much, then he continued, "Martyrs don't cross over, their affinity to Earth binds them. They inhabit their slayers, hoping to destroy them from the inside and corrupt there souls so they don't reach nirvana easily. A sad fate it is." Jaken was completely absorbed, so the ferryman continued, "When demons slay martyrs, even demon martyrs, the souls start to eat away the pureness of the soul. When too many souls inhabit one being, some must be expelled." The old man smiled toothlessly, "The worst the death and the eviler the host, the more pain. The souls take a small part of the host's soul when the leave." Jaken drew back for a second, and then returned.  
  
"The souls take on death-like state when maximum capacity is achieved, clouding desires and thoughts. I other words, the clog up the natural chi  
flow," he paused, "They become torpid souls."  
  
A/N: You like? Please review so I can improve. ( 


	3. Caffeine of the Dog Demon

Disclaimer: If I owned any Inuyasha character, do you think I'd be doing this? BTW: Sesshomaru isn't himself, don't hate me 'cause I'm strange. (--) Need...brains  
  
Torpid Souls pt. III-Sesshomaru of the Dark Blade  
  
Jaken stared in amazement and shock as the ferryman described what was happening to his lord. Then he got what he considered a great idea. "So m'lord is cured now that the soul is out?" Jaken asked smiling triumphantly, thinking that he already knew the answer. "Hell no!" shouted the ferryman, "Are you that thick? This is divine magic; martyrs are blessed at their death. The moment they die, they inhabit the assailant and wear the soul away until there is nothing left. After the soul is almost corrupted to the point that there is no chance of an afterlife, the souls start to leave, sometimes getting some of the corrupted soul caught in their wake. That is what you saw." The ferryman looked as though he was getting very annoyed. Jaken was thinking of retreating back to the castle to tell his lord the bad news. Of course, he wouldn't take it well. But as his lord's retainer, it was his duty. The ferryman sighed and started to paddle away when Jaken had another question and called him back. "So... m'lord is already condemned? Is there no way to stop this mess? I will do anything you require," Jaken said thoughtfully. The ferryman smiled on of those "Anything?" smiles. It would not be pleasant. "Okay, you little frog demon," the ferryman said as the diminutive man puffed out his throat in annoyance exactly like a frog, "Here's what you have to do...go to the Ryshin Mountains and consult the immortal that live there. He'll tell you what you need to know. He's into that essence and incense and all that, I only know about death, saving lives is someone else's job." With that, the decrepit old man used his oar to paddle away. It was about noon, though all the fog made it hard to tell. "Ryshin...do I know that from somewhere?" the little man questioned his brain, "It seems familiar..." Jaken gave up and started to walk back to the castle. It was lunch time and he wasn't about to let Sesshomaru tax his system by making something himself.  
  
"WHAT?! THE RYSHIN MOUNTIANS!?!?" Jaken shied away from his very angry master. "What is so bad about the Ryshin Mountains?" Jaken asked very innocently. "Jaken, would you happen to know what the Ryshin Mountains are?" Sesshomaru asked just as innocently. "I've heard it before, but I can place it..." "THE RYSHIN MOUNTIANS ARE THE SACRED BURIAL PLACES OF ALL THOSE HOLY!!!!" Sesshomaru shouted so loud that the castle shook with all its might. "Jaken! That place has such divine energy that no demon can set foot on them without burning to ashes and mortals are overcome with the holy energy and will stand in one place basking in it until they die of starvation." Jaken's whole face drooped. "And you know what else Jaken?" Sesshomaru said with a strange seriousness. "What else is there that troubles you m'lord?" Jaken responded with deep concern. "I....I....I LOVE THIS COFFEE STUFF!!!! WHEEEEEEEE!!!" Sesshomaru then proceeded to dance like a monkey, "I NEED MORE! MORE I TELL YOU!!!!" Jaken was scared at this point, scared out of his mind. Sesshomaru ceased his dancing and said in a very grave tone, "We have visitors, I SHALL GO TO MEET THEM!!!" And Sessho leapt from his place... straight through a wall...and into the armory. CLASH CLATTER Jaken just stood there amazed at the chaos that had just been wreaked. It was going to be a long day...  
  
"I told you Inuyasha, he is the only one who can bring back people from the dead," said a high-pitched feminine voice. "But Kagome! He's the enemy!" said rather angry growl-like voice. "Sit!" THUD! Sesshomaru crept up stealthily, then let out a big, "BANZAI!!!!!" as he jumped down to the courtyard where a white-haired dog man, a pretty young girl, a one-foot kitsune, and woman with a giant boomerang stood. There was also a monk in purple robes on the ground, with a rather huge piece of wood that went in through his ribs about where his heart would be and came out of the other side with masses of blood and what appeared to be cloth, probably from the robe. Sesshomaru looked at the body and said, "Tsk tsk... what a fine young man, be sure to have a nice ceremony for him." Then he walked off. All four of the people stared at him. "Ummm...aren't you going to do some dramatic speech? Or attack? Or something?" asked the fox-demon. Sesshomaru turned around and blinked, "Kupo?" he asked. "What?" said the boomerang girl, "Did you just say... 'kupo?'" Sesshomaru then placed his nose into the air and sniffed three times, then tackled the dark-haired, strangely dressed woman, "Where are they?!" Sesshomaru shouted as he grabbed her satchel, "WHERE ARE THEY!?!?" He was promptly smacked it the face by a hand, a fist, then a flat, cloth-wrapped weapon that sent him flying, but he still had Kagome's bag. "What the hell was that about!?" asked a half-man, half dog. Jaken appeared at the door to the castle and ran to his master's aid. "Arg! What did...you...do..." Jaken said as he looked up at the visitors, "YOU!" Jaken shouted as he pointed to the four, "Why are you here?" "God demmit! Can't you see the impaled monk on the ground?" said the half-demon. Sesshomaru stared and sweetly said, "Yes, and I said to give him a nice burial." He then proceeded to search the satchel that his claws had gotten him. "Ramen...ramen...RAMEN!? WHERE ARE THOSE ENERGY BEANS!?" Sesshomaru then let out a battle cry of "FOR THE GLORY OF COLUMBIA!!!" and attacked...missing completely. Instead, he hit a wall and made a large hole, "Ouchie!" he shouted. "Stop fooling around! We want you to use the Tensaiga." Barked the dog demon, Inuyasha he had been called. "Oh, okay," Sessho said, "But first...you must do something for me..." "What?" asked the fox-demon. Sesshomaru pointed at the group and shouted, "You must...GIVE ME COFFEE!!! BWHAHAHA!!!!!" "Is that all?" asked the miko from the future. "No," said Jaken as he cleared his voice, "You must also travel to the Ryshin Mountains and ask the immortal about...ummm...martyrs." "Now that's not very nice of you Jaken," said Sesshomaru, "I thought we were going there together. As a couple..." "BWA! You're scaring me!" yelled Jaken as he ran into the castle. "Umm...do what he says...I guess. But bring me more energy beans." And with that, he walked off. "Umm...okay..." said Inuyasha, "What was that about?" BTW, P-342 7-3 5!!!! 


End file.
